1) Do you keep water in your home in large bottles for emergencies? No? You're a moron2) Do you keep a supply of non-perishable food in your home for emergencies? No? You're a moron3) Do you keep a supply of extra essential medicines you need for emergencies? No? You're a moron4) Do you keep a supply of cash, or other forms of currency around for emergencies? No? You're a moron5) Do you own a firearm? No? Well, maybe you're not a moron. But if you answered yes to 1-4, the armed strangers wandering around during emergencies might say thank you.6) Did you consider the land on which you purchased your home and what the house would need to survive 100-year-frequency disasters? No? You're a fool if you don't7) Did you make any modifications to the home for disasters, like a storm shelter for tornadoes or a backup generator for power outages? No? That's not very smart, is it?8) Did you consider how you would contact immediate and extended family if you needed to flee? No? tsk tsk...9) Do you have sufficient tools at home to fix most anything that might happen? For instance, if you have large trees on your property that might topple, do you own a gas chainsaw? No? that's just sad...

Survival is easy people. Doing any of the things I mentioned costs a lot less than dealing with shiat when it hits the fan.

/yes I'm trolling//yes, American's need to hear that they're failing in the job of being self-reliant.

I wonder how many are pissed that their homeowners' doesn't cover flooding/surge. READ YOUR DAMNED POLICY, PEOPLE.

FEMA is not your piggy bank. YOU buy private insurance, YOU must take appropriate steps to mitigate against COMPLETELY PREDICTABLE damages (like from flooding, if you live in a coastal area), and always assume that YOU are on the hook for rebuilding.

This must be that personal responsibility I keep hearing about.

And this guy: "We pay into just like anybody else does," Ken Fisko said. "It's government funded, and we all know we fund the government." should understand that FEMA/the government is not an ATM. The GOP may have been pushing this line that every dollar you pay into government needs to come back to you at your demand, but it simply does not work that way. FEMA is bound by the laws that created it, which say that second+ homes can get stuffed. If you can afford that second home near the coast, you should have been able to afford some insurance for it; maybe raised it on stilts or built a floodwall. FEMA has grants for non-disaster mitigation efforts - so feel free to use some of that money you sent in. Be a responsible citizen and know some things before you're literally picking up the pieces and relying on your government for help.

This guy is all sorts of bent-out-of-shape. Five days since the hurricane and he's still waiting for his help. but it seems to me that people are far too used to instant gratification and don't realize that bureaucracy takes time.

Sorry about your house and your kids and wife man, but the reality is nobody wants to pay for these things, very likely including you. You are not the only person in the room, and there are probably a few folks who are worse of than you.

Let's get this straight. Americans don't like big government, and think universal health care is "commie"...but you want your government to bail you out when you don't have house insurance? Am I missing something..did I read that wrong?

TofuTheAlmighty:A bunch of affluent people, who likely vote GOP, complaining that the government won't give them handouts.

This is surprising not in the slightest.

=================================

That's it exactly. These people are almost all Romney voters.

I live in Jersey, and here are the facts:

These are affluent areas, mostly second or third homes. Pre-Sandy, you couldn't buy a house on a barrier island for less than a million. My God these people were arrogant and nasty. State law says that land 15 feet from the high tide line is PUBLIC PROPERTY. Many of these people built fences almost to the water line and their town goon-squads would arrest anyone attempting to gain access to their "private" beaches. To add insult to injury, those beaches were maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers using federal dollars. Now the gov wouldn't give them any welfare. Boo-Farking-Hoo.

My wife, son and I we displaced by the storm. Yes we have 2 homes. We used miles for hotel rooms. Lost all the food in our fridge, paid a ton in gas to keep the basements dry. We had a good amount of damage also. We can afford to fix it, but man a loan would help out a lot. We're insured, but it's not that easy to get someone to work on stuff ASAP when we 'promise' that insurance will pay.Dry ice was not given out to us, we didn't qualify. Lost (guessing) $500 in food because of that, we didn't have freezers full of steaks, it was mostly healthy baby type products. It's not something you can easily buy (Dry Ice). I had to wait on lines with gas cans to keep the generators running (Sump pumps, not heat), FEMA was giving gas to those who qualify. Also a guess but maybe $7,500 in property damage.Laundry list of things.

Anyway we won't get anything from the government. I don't think we deserve a hand out, but we don't deserve to have to work harder than others. We work hard, and pay our dues, and rarely complain that we get nothing in return. This is one of the times where we could use a hand, not cash, just support, but sadly none.

Ass-hat of the year award goes to:"I don't why that should matter. We pay into just like anybody else does," Ken Fisko said. "It's government funded, and we all know we fund the government."

If you don't pay for insurance on your second (ie. optional) home, then don't expect anyone to help you out when it is flooded. FEMA assistance is to keep people off the streets - by definition "second home" owners will not be on the streets.

White people problems are so much duller than dead black people floating face down in toxic waste water for a week or two while the ineffectual, corrupt, and partisan feds do nothing and the stupid cracker police shoot willy-nilly at every non-white person they see, creating and maintaining the illusion that Africanized-American looters are shooting people when in fact most of the potential looters are quietly and sadly waiting for help seeing as they are the 47% and therefore fat, lazy, stupid, dependant, non-white Democratic Party voters, not bootstrapy strong Libertarian white men like the average looter.

Speaking of state-sponsored criminal classes, how are the super-rich and other Republicans holding out uptown? Do they take comfort that they have won the battle, even as they lose the war? Does the fact that the 47% downtown are starving, with power and unable to post to their Facebook and Twitter accounts console them for their losses on the political front?

After all, Katrina gave Republicans just what they wanted, as did the Bush administration. But with Obama in office, there's actually a snowball's chance in Hell poor people will receive, to use an unpopular four letter word, H-E-L-P, if only after the Election.

I hope they vote in record numbers. At least they'll be able to keep warmer in line for a polling booth. Maybe they can burn their ballots or use them for toilet paper. A good and proper use for ballots in a completely farked-up democracy, I feel and think.

Nature and God have once again shiat upon the Republican Party Platform. And I'm not just tallking about the Richard the Third standing there befuddled by so many lies he can't remember what he said a moment ago let alone yesterday.

indarwinsshadow:Let's get this straight. Americans don't like big government, and think universal health care is "commie"...but you want your government to bail you out when you don't have house insurance? Am I missing something..did I read that wrong?

"I don't why that should matter. We pay into just like anybody else does," Ken Fisko said. "It's government funded, and we all know we fund the government."

No, you didn't "pay in". This isn't an insurance pool. You didn't bother to buy that. This is emergency relief for people who are in danger of losing everything and ending up homeless. If you have a second home, that isn't you.

Brett.M:Lost (guessing) $500 in food because of that, we didn't have freezers full of steaks, it was mostly healthy baby type products.

You... you had $500 worth mostly of perishable baby health food... and two homes... and generators... and you want government disaster relief assistance after a huge storm hit that left hundreds of thousands of people without any power, food, water, or any home at all because your perishable stockpiled food went bad and gas for those generators is expensive? Dude, I have no sympathy for you.

indarwinsshadow:Let's get this straight. Americans don't like big government, and think universal health care is "commie"...but you want your government to bail you out when you don't have house insurance? Am I missing something..did I read that wrong?

It's almost like if you have 300,000,000 people in the country you can find someone to wholeheartedly give whatever dumb comment dovetails best with whatever point you want to make.

wantingout:"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;8. From dependence back into bondage"

Proper internet etiquette requires that you cite your sources. For example, you should have noted that this was a quote from snopes.

These people are just getting a little taste of what Katrina victims had to learn. Private insurance isn't going to cover storm surge or flooding from a Hurricane. If your house is destroyed due to flooding or storm surge, and insurance won't cover you, FEMA isn't going to buy you a new house or pay for repairs on your house. FEMA will give you emergency assistance to put a roof over your head and eat. The money to rebuild the homes in the area that are affected will come from separate government programs, and it will take a while to get that money.

Brett.M:You're taking the complaints the wrong way.Laundry list of things....Anyway we won't get anything from the government. I don't think we deserve a hand out, but we don't deserve to have to work harder than others. We work hard, and pay our dues, and rarely complain that we get nothing in return. This is one of the times where we could use a hand, not cash, just support, but sadly none.

Credit cards. You have them, right? That's what they're there for. I only use my credit cards in emergencies too--like when my one car needs repairs, that medical bill, sometimes I need to buy gas and food with them.

I really feel for you, man. And who the fark has $500 worth of perishable food in their house? Especially when you had days notice that a big storm was coming.

And what the hell is with this "we need support" all the time now? Does everybody need a support group every time they have a bad hair day now? Life is hard, get over it. For some people, it's hard every single day. And they're usually the same people who can't afford to have a disaster AT ALL--not with FEMA, not ever. You can afford it. Be grateful for that.

You're surrounded by people who had the same bad luck you did. Go find them and commiserate, help each other clean up a little. That's what people used to do, before they just started sitting on their steps and waiting for the government to come bail them out.

Nothing against you personally, dude. But this "we have it so hard" bullshiat gets old really fast when I keep hearing it from some of the most entitled twats I've ever been exposed to. We're sitting here in the richest country on earth, drowning in material possessions, whining about how hard our lives are. Does everyone just think that nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to them? Funny how they're usually the same people who like to tell others that it's their own fault if bad things happen to them, they should have prepared. They should have prepared for life better. Until their own safety net develops holes.

freewill:Joe Blowme: No, choosing to live in a place prone to natural disasters is just retarded.

After the Yellowstone Caldera goes, the Weenerss once internet service is restored in Europe and Asia will be along the lines of "well, it was their fault for settling North America".

right, because every so many years it blows and wipes out those who built arround it and yet they keep rebuilding. And once that asteroid hit the earth, the martians will be saying "well, it was their fault for settling earth"

Oklahoma had some big wildfires this past summer. A few high school and college friends, as well as one family member, lost their homes to the wildfires. They were SHOCKED that FEMA wouldn't pay to replace their homes.

One of these people had an uninsured mobile home that wasn't even her primary residence. She was angry that FEMA wouldn't buy her a new one.

Brett.M:Dry ice was not given out to us, we didn't qualify. Lost (guessing) $500 in food because of that, we didn't have freezers full of steaks, it was mostly healthy baby type products. It's not something you can easily buy (Dry Ice). I had to wait on lines with gas cans to keep the generators running (Sump pumps, not heat), FEMA was giving gas to those who qualify. Also a guess but maybe $7,500 in property damage.

You were running generators but couldn't run an extension to keep your freezer running? $500 of food, especially something less value-dense than steak, should take several days to defrost in a properly managed freezer, no dry ice required.

Bundalo:I said "Ma'am, if this house ever needs flood insurance, we've got a whole lot more to worry about than water in the basement."

You're absolutely confident that your house can withstand water falling from the sky (frozen or liquid), that no storm surge can touch you, that no wind-driven water will get behind the outer boundary of your house, that the land won't soak and seep in from underneath...you're not expecting any severe rainstorms so long as you live in that house on the hill, forever and ever, amen?

Good luck.

// and also, if you live outside a floodplain, your policy would cost almost nothing// is $50/year too much to have total peace of mind when it comes to rain/flood? Bear in mind, home insurers love hearing that water damaged your property - it means they can weasel out of paying SO much easier

Big Man On Campus:1) Do you keep water in your home in large bottles for emergencies? No? You're a moron2) Do you keep a supply of non-perishable food in your home for emergencies? No? You're a moron3) Do you keep a supply of extra essential medicines you need for emergencies? No? You're a moron4) Do you keep a supply of cash, or other forms of currency around for emergencies? No? You're a moron5) Do you own a firearm? No? Well, maybe you're not a moron. But if you answered yes to 1-4, the armed strangers wandering around during emergencies might say thank you.6) Did you consider the land on which you purchased your home and what the house would need to survive 100-year-frequency disasters? No? You're a fool if you don't7) Did you make any modifications to the home for disasters, like a storm shelter for tornadoes or a backup generator for power outages? No? That's not very smart, is it?8) Did you consider how you would contact immediate and extended family if you needed to flee? No? tsk tsk...9) Do you have sufficient tools at home to fix most anything that might happen? For instance, if you have large trees on your property that might topple, do you own a gas chainsaw? No? that's just sad...

Survival is easy people. Doing any of the things I mentioned costs a lot less than dealing with shiat when it hits the fan.

/yes I'm trolling//yes, American's need to hear that they're failing in the job of being self-reliant.

When I was on the phone with my insurance company after buying my new house, they asked if I had considered supplemental flood insurance. I looked out my front window, down the hill atop which my home sits, several hundred feet down to the tiny rivulet of a stream that I can see if I pull out my binoculars, far, far, far away from any significant water source that isn't seriously subterranean. I said "Ma'am, if this house ever needs flood insurance, we've got a whole lot more to worry about than water in the basement."

The rest I've got covered.

/Right down to medieval weapons once things degenerate to iron age.//my wine cellar doubles as a a sever storm shelter, as well.///*hic*

My wife, son and I we displaced by the storm. Yes we have 2 homes. We used miles for hotel rooms. Lost all the food in our fridge, paid a ton in gas to keep the basements dry. We had a good amount of damage also. We can afford to fix it, but man a loan would help out a lot. We're insured, but it's not that easy to get someone to work on stuff ASAP when we 'promise' that insurance will pay.Dry ice was not given out to us, we didn't qualify. Lost (guessing) $500 in food because of that, we didn't have freezers full of steaks, it was mostly healthy baby type products. It's not something you can easily buy (Dry Ice). I had to wait on lines with gas cans to keep the generators running (Sump pumps, not heat), FEMA was giving gas to those who qualify. Also a guess but maybe $7,500 in property damage.Laundry list of things.

Anyway we won't get anything from the government. I don't think we deserve a hand out, but we don't deserve to have to work harder than others. We work hard, and pay our dues, and rarely complain that we get nothing in return. This is one of the times where we could use a hand, not cash, just support, but sadly none.

Yeah. Other people without 2 houses need that hand more.

In fact, there are people now with NO houses.

/I remember running a bucket brigade to keep the sump from filling and flooding the basement during hurricane bob because we had no power.//I feel SO TERRIBLE you couldn't get gasoline to run your pumps and refrigerator.

After Katrina, I felt bad about not feeling bad for the people who got caught in the storm's aftermath.

After Sandy, I just don't f-ing care. Sh@!t happens people, don't buy homes built on sand. If American's can somehow remember that the Earth isn't a tame lawn on which nothing bad happens then maybe we won't look like morons to the rest of the world when a NATURAL (meaning they happen naturally) disaster comes.

Just look at the Japanese after a much worse ordeal.... yeah, New Jersey, you see what whiny biatches you look like? STFU and deal with your shiat.

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God asking the government for help.

Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."

The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he FEMA is going to save me."

So the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."

To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. FEMA will do everything for me. I have faith."

So the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."

To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. FEMA will send out a truckload of cash for my second home. I have faith."

So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. went down. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God FEMA, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you but you didn't save me, you let me drown didn't pay for everything ten seconds after the water left. I don't understand why!"

To this God FEMA replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

Why would someone let an automated system drive them to tears without trying to reach an agent and clarify things?

Some phone systems are wicked aggravating on a good day. If someone were already upset and emotional (e.g. due to a disaster), trying to navigate a craptacular menu might be enough to induce tears, especially if there is no obvious way to reach a live person.